SMALL SPACES, SOUNDTRACKS AND WHY NIGHTLIFE IS STILL EXCITING.
Raj 'Rags' Chaudhuri
DJ, Host, Filmmaker, & Global Head of Music at Soho House
From teenage club nights to NTS radio and a mesmerising recent short film about a theremin-playing mechanic, his work is rooted in real spaces and genuine passion. No big break. No master plan. Just a life long commitment to music and the communities around it.
Before titles and roles, how do you currently describe what you do? What feels most central to your work right now?
I am a full-time dad, I have a full-time day job in music, I have a night job in music. I DJ, I make music, I book shows, I work with artists, and I recently co-directed and produced the music for a short documentary film about my car mechanic that plays the theremin. Although the work I do, and have done, varies a lot, music is central to all of it.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what first pulled you into music and culture?
It started with going to gigs and clubbing… a lot. In my teens, I was doing it so much that a nightclub asked me to flyer for them, mainly because I was already at all the parties anyway. That kicked off a chain of events.
Pretty soon I was booking DJs for that night. Then I started running my own parties. Then I worked in a record shop. Then I did radio. Then I worked for an online shop. Then I booked for other people. Then I ran labels, or A&R’d for them. Then I started managing artists. Then I started making music. Then I made a film.
This isn’t to list achievements or bore you with my LinkedIn. It’s to say there was no big break, or even much of a plan. I’ve just always followed music and worked hard. That leads to opportunities. Some you take, some you miss. Then you move on to the next one. Suddenly, decades later, you realise you’re still working in music, which is what I’ve always wanted.
Your career spans curation, A&R, events, consultancy, and campaigns, but music remains the constant. When did you realise music wasn’t just a part time interest?
The truth is that any job that didn’t involve music just wasn’t able to hold my attention. I either quit or was fired pretty quickly, back in early teenage and student days. Music jobs are the only ones I can keep, though I would like to do more film work.
" I’ve always been drawn to small scenes. I’ve got scars on my head from stage-diving at hardcore and punk gigs in Camden and King’s Cross "
Looking back, were there early influences — scenes, communities, or moments — that shaped how you understand culture?
I’ve always been drawn to small scenes. I’ve got scars on my head from stage-diving at hardcore and punk gigs in Camden and King’s Cross. I started running parties with UK hip-hop artists who would never be played on commercial radio. Plastic People, a 100-cap basement, is where my musical education really expanded. Like Andre 3000 and Jack Black said, great things happen in small rooms. I’ve seen it everywhere: India, Brazil, South Africa, Korea. All over the world, really. Culture isn’t big. It starts small, cultivates, then gets packaged for a mass audience, for better or worse. If you want to experience culture, go to small rooms.
Tell us about the film you have just finished.
Fred is my actual car mechanic. I took my car in for its MOT and we got chatting. He asked if he could play his theremin to me, and obviously I said yes. He plays it to all his customers. I was struck by his passion and, when he realised I work in music, we talked for hours. I told him I wanted to make a film, even though I’d only ever made a short Danny Brown documentary for Noisey years ago. I had an idea to have him play over the melody of a track I was working on for my debut EP. The demo was called Computer Ghost because it had this eerie chord progression that felt perfect for theremin. When he told me the theremin is often described as being like “making love to a ghost”, because you never actually touch the instrument, I renamed the track on the spot and decided to make the film.
There were parallels too. He started playing theremin in lockdown around the same time I started making music. He mentioned a filmmaker, Rosie Litterick, who had already been filming him. I DM’d her, found her project was on pause, and we combined ideas. We shot again and the film came together really quickly and organically. She was amazing and brought together a brilliant team of collaborators.
" I’ve been on NTS Radio since it started 15 years ago, and I’m pretty sure if I’d just played house or hip-hop — I’d be a much bigger DJ by now "
Radio and music have clearly been an important outlet for you, particularly through your work with NTS. What does that platform allow you to explore that other spaces don’t?
It allows me to play an incredibly wide spectrum of music. I do a Friday afternoon slot on NTS, and my radio shows can move from gospel to hip-hop to jungle or techno specials. I also get to invite, or go b2b with, some of my favourite artists.
That kind of freedom is harder to find in clubs and is far more true to the actual spectrum of music I listen to in my personal life. That’s why DJs like Theo Parrish have always inspired me, especially the all-nighters he used to play at Plastic People, where jazz, hip-hop, house and techno could all live in the same set.
My radio shows are known for being eclectic and, for better or worse, I think people struggle to categorise me. I’ve been on NTS Radio since it started 15 years ago, and I’m pretty sure if I’d just played house, or hip-hop, which some people associate me with, I’d be a much bigger DJ by now. But it wouldn’t be true to me, or to the music I want to share. I get bored only playing one genre or style.
NTS has built its reputation on trust, depth, and global perspective. How has being part of that ecosystem influenced your thinking around curation and responsibility?
In the whole time I’ve been there - I’ve never been told what to play and the popularity or numbers of the show never seem to dictate the programming. I respect that a lot about them.
Where are you focusing your energy right now? What feels important or unfinished at this point in your journey?
I’m trying to finish more music. I’m sitting on LOTS of unreleased music that I need to finish. I’d also like to make another short film.
What would your dream film project be?
I want to combine film with the music I make. I have a few ideas brewing but there’s music I need to finish first, ha. Listening to music feels disposable now. When was the last time you listened to an album front to back without talking, without checking your phone, without distraction? Seeing our film in a dark cinema, where people were fully silent and present, is how I’d love my work to be experienced. It’s the same reason I love clubs that don’t allow phones. Being in the moment feels rare now, and any art form that encourages focus is something I’m drawn to.
What about the music?
Nightlife still excites me, and I think it always will. I’ve seen it change a lot since I first started clubbing and running parties, but the energy is still there. There are so many great collectives, promoters, and venues doing incredible things. Yes, I miss Plastic People — but have you been to Open Ground? The sound is unreal. It genuinely feels like being inside a studio. The clarity is incredible. The space itself is great too. Loads of areas to hang out, little nooks and corners. It just ticks every box for a great club. I try not to be the person who says things were “better back in the day”. Every generation says that. The question is whether things were actually better — or whether you’ve just lost the energy and excitement you had when you were younger.
You come across as optimistic for the industry when the rest of the world seems to be headlining the death of the dancefloor. What’s your prediction for the future?
It’s abysmal right now, but that doesn’t mean good stuff won’t come through. So many grassroots music venues are struggling to make a profit. But at the same time, unlicensed and illegal parties growing. Last year I went to so many inspiring nights, some of them illegal, that made me feel really excited about nightlife. There is exciting stuff happening. It’s just not always where you’re being told to look. You won’t find it in targeted ads on Meta.
Finally… Where is your SOMEWHERE GOOD?
In the studio making music.
Credits.
Raj by Angela Stephenson
Fred & Raj by Marc Sethi (Making Love to a Ghost)
Raj by Marc Sethi
Words. Mick Wilson
EXPLORE MORE
